TARGET MARKETING AND SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING FOR ENTREPRENEURS

Written by @Abiola_Ewuola

To get your business (and) yourself found online… you need to work like crazy, and you need to understand exactly what you need to do from a technology standpoint to give yourself a competitive advantage.

Paying money to Google Ads without have a crystal clear target marketing plan is NOT a good idea. Social media marketing is NOT going to work too well for you either if you don’t have a plan. You need to know what to do, and how to do it, to be successful.

I’ve been through it all, I’ve failed, I’ve spent a lot of money, and I’ve succeeded as well… so you can say I’ve been around the block. Now I’m here to share a few of the lessons I learned the hard way, so that you can save your time and money, and not have to go through all the heartache that I did. Enjoy, and remember, take action on what you learn from my experiences, they all will make a big difference in your business, as well as in your life.

Why you need to use a magnifying glass when advertising to your target markets… it’s great that your company provides social media marketing services… it’s not so great when your company is trying to get on the front page of Google for the search term, “social media marketing services.”

You have no shot to get on the first page, unless you want to waste a ton of time and money… or unless you really know what you’re doing. Instead of wasting your time and money, simply get your magnifying glass out and advertise to a highly, highly, specific and targeted group of people. Below are two examples of more specific, and targeted search terms that will definitely help you save time and money.

Example 1: “social media marketing services philadelphia pennsylvania”
Example 2: “philadelphia pennsylvania social media marketing services”

You get the idea here… you just want to get real specific with what you’re offering, as well as to exactly whom you’re offering it to. Don’t get caught in the money pit of trying to rank for keywords and search terms that massive companies pay massive amounts of money to hold the top search spots for. Get specific, and speak to smaller markets to have the highest return on investment.

When you’re selling, there are two different approaches that you can take… the magnifying glass approach, where you really get super specific with who your target market is, and then the fishing net approach, where you cast a net over a large market segment, hoping for the best.

I’m personally a big fan of the magnifying glass approach, especially for small to mid-size businesses, because it allows companies to get real specific with their marketing initiatives.

Big brands with big budgets… the fishing net approach typically works for big brands, that have a lot of money, and that are looking to build awareness of their brands products or services.

Segment and get personal… it’s tough to market to 100,000 people because they’re not all interested in the same products and services, but if you can segment your list into (10) groups of 10,000 people each, it’s really going to put you at an advantage in terms of getting a little more specific with your messages… and when you get specific with your messages, your results for engagement increase… this is what you want.

Make every dollar count… as a small to mid-size business, every dollar counts… so make sure whatever marketing initiatives that you’re planning on launching are well thought out and that you’re just not getting caught up in the excitement of the moment. Yes, it’s easy to get caught up in the next big advertising or marketing hype… I personally have done it before as well, but the one thing I can tell you is that it normally works out better if you just sit back for a little and let the dust settle.

Get your magnifying glass out and get specific with your target markets. The more information you gather on your clients and prospects, the more you can personalize your communications… so don’t be afraid to use surveys, online quizzes, and giveaways as a way to gather more information.

Getting your article found by google is really not that difficult… that is… if you know what to do, and how to do it.

Like I always share… if you stick to the basics and the core foundations… you’ll always end up in good shape.

Optimize your blog post… to optimize your blog post to get found by Google, simply follow the nine (no-brainer) methods listed below.

– Pick a keyword (or) keyword phrase that you want to target in your article
– Include your keyword (or) keyword phrase in the title of your article
– Include your keyword (or) keyword phrase in the URL of your article
– Include your keyword (or) keyword phrase in the first paragraph and the last paragraph of your article
– Be sure to include H1, H2, and H3 tags in your article to break up information and start new paragraphs
– Use bold and italics to highlight your keyword (or) keyword phrase in your article
– Be sure to include your keyword (or) keyword phrase multiple times throughout your article
– Be sure to include one internal link back to one of your established high ranking blog articles or pages in your article
– Be sure to include your keyword (or) keyword phrases in the ALT tag of the image you include in your article

Listen… just give what I shared above a try with your next few articles, and see what happens.

Follow the recommendations… I’m not going to sit here and promise you the (pot of gold) at the end of the rainbow, but by following the simple recommendations that I shared above… you’ll be in the race, and well positioned to succeed.

Follow Abiola Ewuola on Twitter: @Abiola_Ewuola, take part in the CMO conversation on LinkedIn: Abiola Ewuola, join us on Facebook: Abiola Ewuola or check us out on Google+:G+

Creating successful online marketing campaigns for your business is not rocket science… all you need to do is take some time and check out some of the more successful online marketing campaigns that brands have recently run, and then use a similar plan for your own campaigns.

Online marketing campaigns… if you study enough successful online campaigns, you’ll see that they all have very similar core ingredients which made them successful. Learn from them… and don’t try and, “reinvent the wheel,” at this point, they’ll be plenty of time for you to do that in the future.

The simple five step plan… below is the simple five step plan for you to follow the next time you’re putting together some online marketing campaigns for your business.

– Clearly define what the purpose of your online marketing campaign is
– Clearly define who your target market is for your campaign
– Create attractive and compelling images along with solid content
– Set up analytics so that you can measure your results
– Study your analytics on a daily basis and make immediate changes as needed

The steps listed above are all core foundations for online marketing success… so use them, and continue to learn from everything you do along the way.

Remember, the simpler the better in most cases, so don’t try and make it more difficult than what it really is.

Listen, social media marketing isn’t rocket science… but there’s definitely things that work, and there’s definitely things that don’t work.

Below are three simple social media marketing foundations for success that work without a doubt.

Throw away the excuses… the one piece that you need to remember, is that you need to actually do them for them to work. So don’t make up excuses, get yourself a plan together, and start taking the needed steps so that you can find social media marketing success for your business.

Steps to social media marketing success… here are the three simple social media marketing steps to increase your brands exposure.

– Post consistently… get into a routine and stick to it. If you decide you’re going to post ten times per day, then post ten times per day, if it’s three times per day, then make it three times per day, but whatever you decide, make a plan and stick to it.
– Post trending content… follow the top sites in your specific industry and stay up to date with all the latest and greatest news, tips, tricks, and trends. People love hot off the press insider information, so be prepared to give it to them.
– Post at the right time… learn about your audience… in what part of the world are most of them located, at what time do your posts get the most immediate reshares or likes… this is important information, find out, monitor your posts, and once you find your hot spot, stick with it.

Pretty simple right… maybe not so simple to commit to, day in and day out… but you can do it with proper planning. Believe me, if I figured out a way to do it, you most definitely can as well.

Learn 3 ways to maximize your personal and business exposure on LinkedIn… maximizing your personal and business exposure on LinkedIn is really not that difficult… you just need to know what to do, and then you need to take action and make the suggested updates.

A little side note… learning what to do, and then taking action to make the suggested improvements, is great… learning what to do, and then “not” taking action to make the suggested improvements, is not so great. Whatever you do, if you’re going to take the time to learn something, take the time to implement it as well.

The three components… to maximize your exposure on LinkedIn, you need to focus on three primary areas.

– Increase your exposure on LinkedIn by filling out your personal profile in full
– Increase your exposure on LinkedIn by consistently contributing content to your business page
– Increase your exposure on LinkedIn by joining groups and actively participating in them

Now that you know what the three primary areas that you need to focus on are, let’s take a deeper dive, and learn a little more about each one, and how they’ll benefit you.

LinkedIn personal profile… you most likely have a personal profile already, but you need to optimize and actually drive qualified network traffic to your profile by updating a few key areas within your personal profile.

Start by updating the description area… tell people how you can help them, and how you’ll make them more successful by interacting with you. Move onto updating the organizations that you interact with… maybe you’re on a board, or a society for a non-profit organization… you never know who’s connected with whom.

Be sure to update your achievements… awards you’ve won, and what you’ve given back to your community… these are all great things to include as well.

Lastly, update everything in your personal profile to include relevant keywords, so that people and businesses taking advantage of LinkedIn’s search features, will be able to find you. For example… if you’re in the business of providing entrepreneur information, make sure you’re including the most relevant keywords that are related to entrepreneurship.

Having a LinkedIn business page, enables people to follow your business, without being a direct connection to you. LinkedIn business pages also allow you to share almost any type of link, including video and photos… this plays a huge part in driving qualified traffic to your LinkedIn business profile page.

Again, you’re going to apply similar rules to what you did when you updated your personal profile, by making sure that you’re filling out all of the pertinent areas, and that your call to action is clear and precise.

The LinkedIn groups section is one of the most under utilized areas by people and businesses… this is the exact reason why there’s a huge opportunity that you can take advantage of right now. If you don’t want to form your own group right now, you can join an already established group, and still receive the benefits of increasing your exposure on LinkedIn.

Join LinkedIn groups that interest you… start conversations in those selected groups, post information of value to the group, and actively participate on a daily basis. The main idea of LinkedIn groups is for you to share your knowledge with others, gain insight for yourself, and to network with professionals that have similar interests to yours.

For example… here are three, already established LinkedIn groups, that you may want to get active in.

– Digital Marketing: Digital marketing is one of the most exciting and dynamic groups on LinkedIn for digital marketing professionals.
– Harvard Business Review: Harvard Business Review is the leading destination for smart management thinking.
– Executive Suite: The purpose of the Executive Suite is executive-level peer connections, trusted insight and practical advice to help you sharpen your decision-making and elevate your work, your company and your career.

All of the above LinkedIn groups are highly moderated, and will show you the right way groups are to be run… this way, you can learn how to run your very own LinkedIn group later on down the line.

What to do next… if you need additional help, our team of lead generation and sales development experts are ready to jump into action, just open up a support ticket with us, or call 1-888-370-9917 anytime, and one of our team members will gladly assist you.

This accompanying article “Entrepreneur Thoughts and Actions to Achieve More in Less Time” will help you out as well. Also, here’s the matching SlideShare presentation if you’d like to present this information to your staff.

Building a brand culture? Serious change is needed

Written by @Abiola_Ewuola

What’s in a social impression? Better yet, what does branding actually mean to the consumer? Building a brand culture is about much more than proliferating an image or ad across social platforms, because that sort of recognition is fleeting.

You may find the occasional unicorn who shares photos of your product’s packaging, perfectly positioned in a well-lit selfie, or mentions the hashtag from your soft drink can on their Twitter page. Great. But what’s next? 

Getting in Front of the Masses Isn’t Enough

Too often, being seen is justified as an end in itself, and it’s nothing new.Babe Ruth was hawking cola, breakfast cereal, and underwear before most of us were born. If a branding opportunity feels forced, most consumers can sniff it out from a mile away.

Today’s social marketing has expanded the concept of product placement to the masses to where every consumer is a potential ad rep. And if you can convince people to share about your product in an authentic, personal way, then you’re certainly on the right track. John Andrews, CMO of GoodXChange, wrote a great piece on the topic of Brand Building Through Conversational Correlation.

Follow Abiola Ewuola on Twitter: @Abiola_Ewuola, take part in the CMO conversation on LinkedIn: Abiola Ewuola, join us on Facebook: Abiola Ewuola or check us out on Google+:G+

The problem comes when “share our product because you actually enjoy using it,” is replaced by “share our brand because we put a hashtag on the package.” The person sharing the photo might be all-in with the brand either way, but their social connections aren’t likely to be moved. As John puts it in his article, “For brands to be relevant along the digital path to purchase it will be critical to create conversational competency across channels beyond push driven marketing.” 

Quality and Service Trump Image Every Time

The marketing mindset of brands needs to change to fit today’s digitally conversational consumer, yet many are still making the mistake of thinking that their image is enough to carry them. We see it all the time. For example, a brand that rushes a new product to market to meet a deadline assuming people will buy it anyway because of the name on the package. Or when a utility provider mixes above-market prices with poor customer service because they’re the only viable brand on the block.

Consumers today are much better equipped to separate the brand from the quality of the product or service in question, and they talk to each other! If the latest flagship iPhone or Galaxy S is a step back from the previous generation, there’s no hiding from the fallout. If your cable company offers high prices, onerous long-term contracts, and customer service with a sneer, people can opt for streaming services instead. The consumer’s connection to a brand is important, but it needs to be backed by quality and a genuine, personal connection. People like to talk to people—not logos.

Building a Meaningful Brand Requires a Personal Touch 

No matter how a person chooses to connect with your brand, they need something more substantial than a familiar package and a well-known name. It’s often the little, positive moments that matter most, and those little moments are hard to manufacture if you’re not committed to quality across the board. A friendly, helpful customer care rep or retail employee will naturally build brand loyalty in consumers, simply by doing their job well.

This is doubly true when a helpful exchange happens on social media, where everyone can see it – even when the consumer’s initial comment was posted in frustration. Resolving a challenge in a respectful, open way may not fit with viral marketing, but those little moments make a major impression over time. In the digital age, it’s conversation that drives brand reputation; conversation between brand and consumer, as well as conversation between consumers about the brand.

These are not new concepts, but they’re often just payed lip-service before being discarded in favor of the trend of the moment. A catchy ad, clever social marketing campaign, or recognizable package still has real value in raising awareness, but the best marketing needs to make a lasting impression. The only way to build a sturdy foundation for your brand is by treating consumers as informed, valuable individuals through every channel of interaction, rather than data points in campaigns.

This requires a big shift in thinking in regards to brand culture. It’s less about image and more about relevance, and brands that stubbornly refuse to change will lose out to those that recognize and embrace opportunities to be more relevant to consumers.

Old marketing was dictation… new marketing is communication. Change from Convince & Convert to Converse & Convert! #RonR… #NoLetUp 

6 Essential Metrics for Optimizing Social Media Marketing

Essential metrics for monitoring & optimizing social media marketing

Social media marketing is about content and value. However, it is also about numbers. If you don’t watch numbers closely and see how they develop over time, you might end up spending too much time, money and effort on something that is not paying off as it should. This is why in order to evolve your digital marketing strategies, you need to pay attention to metrics. Moreover, you need to use those metrics to modify and optimize your strategies and approach.

This post will give you an idea about which numbers to watch and how much analysis you should put into each of them. Be sure to visit us back soon for part 2.

Metrics for monitoring & optimizing social media marketing:

1- Number of followers

Wether you have social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest or any other platform, it is important to keep an eye on your number of followers. The number of your followers will give you an idea about the value of your content and activity to your audience. However, you should not depend on this metric for too long, especially since many Facebook and Twitter fans and followers could be bought rather than cultivated over time.

2- Number of interactions

Many marketers rely on the number of interactions with a post to measure engagement. They use the number of likes, shares and retweets to boast their success at attracting audience. Although no one can underestimate the value of engagement, businesses and brands should watch out as this metric is not very reliable. Why? because many people might like a tweet or even share it without actually clicking it. Moreover, many people would engage with you on Twitter and Facebook without ever visiting your site.

3- Clicks on Links

When we first started The Global Now, we used to rely heavily on organic traffic. We avoided using paid advertising for almost 3 months but then we surrendered to it. When I first started promoting posts on ourFacebook page, I used to boost posts to get likes. However, I learned, the hard way, that I needed to go for ‘get clicks’ instead. The more clicks we got, the more traffic our site had. Moral of the story: having great clickable content does not guarantee you organic traffic.

" Follow Abiola Ewuola on Twitter: @Abiola_Ewuola, take part in the CMO conversation on LinkedIn: Abiola Ewuola, join us on Facebook: Abiola Ewuola or check us out on Google+:G+ "

4- Post reach

Your average post on Facebook or tweet on Twitter will not be shown to all your fans. Your tweet or post reach is determined by complicated algorithms that take time of posting, user interaction and other factors into account. Since reach is not equal to the number of followers, you should be careful when using metric to use for optimizing your social media campaigns.

5- Website traffic

Thousands of people are currently using social media to drive traffic to their websites. Whether it is a landing page, a sales page or a blog, you need to carefully monitor the traffic you are getting to your site to see how successful your marketing efforts are. Moreover, website traffic and traffic by page are great ways to learn what you are doing right or wrong and optimize your strategy accordingly.

6- Traffic per traffic source

This is one of the most important metrics you can use to improve your social media marketing. How? By monitoring traffic from Facebook or Twitter alone, you can better learn about your audience preferences, how to target them right, what content interests them more and so on. Breaking down your traffic by traffic source helps you figure out which activities pay off and which ones don’t.

We still have many more metric to share with you so be sure to check back soon for part 2.  
Follow Abiola Ewuola on Twitter: @Abiola_Ewuola, take part in the CMO conversation on LinkedIn: Abiola Ewuola, join us on Facebook: Abiola Ewuola or check us out on Google+:G+

How to get value out of influencer marketing

Written by @Abiola_Ewuola

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Today we will be talking about the influencers in the digital marketing world. So, introducing you to the influencers.
The influencers are social medialist, with loud voice on social media networks, twitter, instagram, facebook, snapchat, any social network as an infleuncer. they influence online decision habits of the audience.
A single push button from a influencer can make your strategy looks wonder ( I don't know, that really qualify how important this influencers are).
For your social marketing strategy to be effective, you need the influencers influence. Why? How? read bellow.

How to Optimize Your Content for Google's Featured Snippet Box

In the past few years Google have been refining the way that it displays results to users. In particular, Google has been increasing the number of Featured Snippets that it displays for queries.

What's a Featured Snippet? And more importantly, what do you have to do to appear there? Well, that's what I set out to explore. 

Shared Content Optimization: What It Is & Why You Need to Care

Written by @Abiola_Ewuola

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Nearly every smart marketer wants to create content that puts their company on the map and attract more customers.

According to HubSpot's research, inbound marketing and content marketing have been the most effective method of doing business online. It’s no secret that high quality and shareable content is in high demand, but it is becoming exceedingly difficult to create top-notch pieces that cut through the noise.